All Dolphins

Dolphins Draft Pick Deep Dive: Noah Igbinoghene

The Dolphins got a raw but gifted cornerback with their third of three first-round picks in the 2020 NFL draft
Alain Poupart|
Dolphins Draft Pick Deep Dive: Noah Igbinoghene
Dolphins Draft Pick Deep Dive: Noah Igbinoghene

With their third of three first-round picks, the 30th overall, the Dolphins selected Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.

The complete lowdown on Dolphins draft pick Noah Igbinoghene, from his projection before the draft, to what analysts said after the fact and how he fits, and more.

Igbinoghene was selected after the Dolphins traded the 26th overall pick to the Green Bay Packers for the 30th pick and a fourth-round selection (136th overall).

COLLEGE CAREER

Igbinoghene was a three-year letterman at Auburn who played 40 games with 22 starts and moved from wide receiver to cornerback after his freshman season.

Igbinoghene had 92 tackles over the past two seasons and one interception, against Texas A&M in 2018.

He had two kickoff returns for touchdowns at Auburn, a 96-yard score against Arkansas in 2018 and a school bowl-record 96-yarder against Minnesota in the 2020 Outback Bowl.

COMBINE RECAP

Igbinoghene’s official measurements were 5-10, 198 pounds, arms 313⁄4 long and 93⁄8-inch hands.

These were his results in the drills:

40-yard dash: 4.48

Bench press: 15 reps

Vertical jump: 37.0

Broad jump: 128.0

He did not participate in the 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle or 60-yard shuttle.

PRE-DRAFT RANKINGS (overall)

Mel Kip er Jr., ESPN: 36

CBSsports.com: 38

Ourlads: 51

Kevin Hanson, Sports Illustrated: 55

Todd McShay, ESPN: 60

Dane Brugler, The Athletic: 62

NFL.com: 66

POST-SELECTION REACTION

A survey of 12 media analysts found the grades for the selection of Igbinoghene from A+ to D.

The A-plus came from Pete Prisco, who called Igbinoghene the captain of his "Better-Than-Team." Wrote Prisco: "I think this pick is outstanding. He's a great press man guy. He tackled 10 times better than I expected from a track guy."

Longtime draft analyst Rob Rang, publisher of NFLDraftScout on the SI network, also liked the pick.

"Normally, projects are late round picks with athletic upside worthy of developing and few immediate expectations," Rang wrote in his recap of the Dolphins draft. "That likely will not be the case of Igbinoghene considering that the Dolphins selected him 30 overall. With the outside corner spots already loaded with former Cowboys star Jones and Xavien Howard; however, Igbinoghene’s best chance at early playing time is likely inside at nickel. Igbinoghene, the son of Olympians and a former wide receiver who only made the transition to corner two years ago, certainly has the athleticism to handle this. Further, he is very physical. Playing closer to the big boys at the line of scrimmage won’t bother him. He is still a work in progress in terms of route-recognition, however, and that inexperience will make him a target of opposing quarterbacks early, especially if Pro Bowlers’ Jones and Howard are covering the other receivers. Igbinoghene may be a star one day but expect some growing pains as he develops."

HOW HE FITS

You can never have enough cornerbacks in the field, which paid off for the New England Patriots when they won the Super Bowl in the 2018 season with Dolphins coach Brian Flores as their de factor defensive coordinator. That philosophy obviously is being applied in Miami, which explains the Dolphins spending a first-round pick on Igbinoghene after making Byron Jones the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL when they signed him in free agency.

Those two joins a cornerback group that already included 2018 Pro Bowl selection Xavien Howard, along with 2019 starter Nik Needham, 2019 nickel corner Jamal Perry (formerly Jomal Wiltz), as well as Tae Hayes, Ryan Lewis, Ken Webster, Cordrea Tankersley and Nate Brooks.

Because he’s only played cornerback for two years, there’s still some refinement that needs to happen and that could keep Igbinoghene out of the lineup at the outset. But because of his athletic ability and skill set, he should be in the lineup at nickel corner before long.

OFF THE FIELD

What stands out about Igbinoghene is the fact both of his parents, Faith and Festus, were Olympic track athletes for Nigeria. Igbinoghene, though, said there were challenges growing up in a Nigerian household.

“I know a lot of people don’t understand that, but it’s a different way of living, I would say,” Igbinoghene said. “I really didn’t get to do a lot of things I’d say a normal teenager would like to do, as far as going out with my friends and stuff like that, but that’s just something I had to sacrifice if I wanted to be here talking to you today. Their plan worked. They were very protective parents, but their plan worked at the end of the day. I am the man I am because of them. It was a blessing just to grow up in this household. This happened, so it worked out, I guess.”

Igbinoghene was born Nov. 27, 1999 and his hometown is Trussville, Alabama.

He was a science and mathematics major at Auburn.

DRAFT NOTES

Igbinoghene became the fifth cornerback drafted in the first round by the Dolphins, following Vontae Davis in 2009, Jamar Fletcher in 2001, Troy Vincent in 1992, and Don McNeal in 1980.

Igbinoghene became the eighth Auburn player drafted by the Dolphins and the second in two years after they took fullback Chandler Cox in the seventh round in 2019. The others were LB Mike Kolen and DE Dave Campbell in 1970, DT Eddie Blake in 1992, G Chris Gray in 1993, RB Ronnie Brown in 2005 and WR Devin Aromashodu in 2006.

Igbinoghene was the fifth of 25 cornerbacks taken in the 2020 NFL draft, behind only Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah, Florida’s C.J. Henderson, Clemson’s A.J. Terrell and Ohio State’s Damon Arnette.

FINAL WORD

“Best player on the board for us. We felt really good about Noah. We got to know him. This is a passing league as everyone says. You can never have enough corners … Brian (Flores) came from a really good defensive team when we hired him and they had a lot of corners. At the end of the day, the way this league is offensively, it’s a premium position and the more you have, the better. It breeds competition. (He’s a) competitive kid that we really liked in the process.” — GM Chris Grier       

Published
Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

Share on XFollow @PoupartNFL
Home/News